•WRITTEN BETWEEN 70-85 AD•IN ANTIOCH

•BY A JEWISH CHRISTIAN•UTILIZED THE ‘Q ’ DOCUMENT

The Gospel According to Matthew

Overview of the Gospel

The Gospel according to Matthew is a bridgebetween the Old and New Testaments.It was written for Jewish-Christians , but also welcomed

Gentiles.The author describes Jesus as the

culmination ofGod’s plan of creation and salvation.

Theological Themes in Matthew

Jesus as ‘anointed one’ - Christ in Greek, Messiah in HebrewJesus as ‘rabbi,’ or teacher – the new Moses with a law of loveThrough Jesus, the Jewish people found a spiritual homeafter the destruction of the temple.More than any other Gospel, Matthew

includesprophecies proclaiming Jesus as Messiah.

Structure of the Gospel

Readers of the Gospel of Matthew likely made a connection between Jesus’ five major teachings and the five books of the

Torah.

Jesus’ Birth & Infancy Narratives

Gospel writers wrote the stories of Jesus’ birth—infancy narratives—knowing that Jesus was the Messiah.Matthew includes four gentile women in his

genealogy of Jesus, indicating that Jesus came forJews and Gentiles.*The name Jesus, given by the angel Gabriel, means“God saves.”

*Why would Matthew have included Rahab, a harlot who aided Joshua’s spies?

Compare the genealogies of Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38.

Jesus’ Birth & Infancy Narratives

The Infancy Narratives’ stories of the Magi and King Herod foreshadowed the fact that some people would

accept Jesus; others would reject him.The tradition of the creche, or nativity scene,

is fromSt. Francis of Assisi.

Incarnation

The mystery of God ‘becoming man,’ or theIncarnation,reveals that Jesus is both fully human and divine.God became man to:

save us show us God’s love be our model of holiness make us sharers of the divine nature

Jesus’ Temptation

Jesus’ temptation was aimed at three things:material, miraculous, and political power.The temptation in the desert contrasted the

time the Israelites were in the desert and failed to follow God’s commandments.When we choose to resist temptation, we are strengthened against future trials, as Jesus was.

Jesus’ Public Ministry

Jesus’ message included a note of urgency and called for people to

renouncewhatever would keep them from fully responding to

Christ’s call.This call is the call for the kingdom of heaven, orthe gift of salvation and eternal life and God’s rule of justice, peace, & love.Matthew uses the term YHWH, the Hebrew name for

God, because Jews tended not to use the word God.“Turn the other cheek…” When Jesus told his

disciples to turn the other cheek instead of follow the ‘Eye for an eye’ mentality, was he simply telling them to be submissive to the Roman authorities?

The Coming of the Kingdom

The full and perfect realization of the kingdom is still in the future, as affirmed by Jesus in the prayer he gave us:

The Our Father.